In spring 2010, David Pinder, then-principal of McKinley Tech High School, was contemplating a move to Chicago. He found work, and he went to tell then-Chancellor Michelle Rhee. But that’s when everything changed. Some 150 freshmen and sophomores from nearby Shaw Middle School, which was in the process of growing into a high school, showed up on his doorstep. When their principal, Brian Betts, died earlier that spring, it killed the school’s expansion efforts, leaving those students to find a new high school. “I thought, my God, I can’t turn (these) kids down,” said Pinder, who was speaking at YEP-DC’s inaugural policy-to-practice conference in March. But by doing so, Pinder welcomed a much larger challenge: Most of these kids were in poverty and below basic in math and reading. “I realized that if we were going to move (academics) substantially … we were going to have to actually figure out how to do education differently,” he said.

His secret? “We broke every rule,” he told the more than 150 education professionals who attended the YEP-DC conference. He focused on motivating students through field trips that exposed them to science, engineering, and biotechnology; and then, connecting them to the coursework at school that would put them on a path toward those careers. He also focused on teacher training and recruitment, ensuring that educators had the tools and support they needed to succeed in the classroom. He identified three components of any successful teacher, which he refers to as CPR:

C, for content: Teachers should be passionate about their content; if not, it will be hard for them to get students excited about it

P, for pedagogy: Teachers should be masters at presenting information to students in ways that they want to learn.

R, for relationships: Teachers have to build such strong relationships with students that “they work harder just because you’re in the room,” he said.

Pinder saw student proficiency surpass 90 percent by 2012, when he was also named Principal of the Year for District of Columbia Public Schools. In 2006, barely half of students were proficient.

If you missed Pinder’s speech or couldn’t make the YEP-DC conference, watch this video snippet.

The remainder of the YEP-DC conference was divided into four breakout sessions, where participants could choose the speakers and topics they wanted to join. Topics included (but were not limited to):

access to higher education,

the current political climate,

English-language learners,

over-aged and under-credited youth,

new approaches to STEM and literacy instruction,

teacher evaluation and preparation,

family and community engagement.

One panel included a variety of representatives from alternative teacher certification programs, including Center for Inspired Teaching, Teach for America, TNTP (formerly known as The New Teacher Project), and the Urban Teacher Center. While the difference in size of each of the respective programs is vast (ranging from 30 to 315 participants), all are intent on finding academically successful, resilient, and passionate leaders to teach in D.C. Each representative talked about their program’s feedback-driven approach toward teacher preparation and evaluation.

And what’s a YEP-DC event without networking? Midway through the day, YEP-DCers walked through an Opportunity Fair, where about 20 education organizations and businesses shared their work and potential career opportunities. The day concluded with a more informal networking session over drinks at nearby Clyde’s.

An engaging day, for sure.

YEP-DC thanks Microsoft for donating the space to host this event, as well as the invaluable donations of our other sponsors. Thank you all for making this event a success.

Leave a Reply.

about

YEP-DC is a nonpartisan group of education professionals who work in research, policy, and practice – and even outside of education. The views expressed here are only those of the attributed author, not YEP-DC. This blog aims to provide a forum for our group’s varied opinions. It also serves as an opportunity for many more professionals in DC and beyond to participate in the ongoing education conversation. We hope you chime in, but we ask that you do so in a considerate, respectful manner. We reserve the right to modify or delete any content or comments. For any more information or for an opportunity to blog, contact us via one of the methods below.

Bloggers

MONICA GRAY is co-founder & president of DreamWakers, an edtech nonprofit. She writes on education innovation and poverty.

LYDIA HALL is a legislative aide in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she works on education, civil rights, and other issues. Lydia is interested in helping to bridge the gap between Capitol Hill and the classroom.

MOSES PALACIOS is an advocate for student rights and works as a Research Manager for the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS) - a coalition of urban school districts across the nation. He writes on issues regarding the children of immigrants and students learning English as a second language. His views are his own and not representative of CGCS.

PATRICIA RUANE is aresearch associate at an education nonprofit. She is an editor of Recess. ​LESLIE WELSH is a high school social studies teacher in DC. She is an editor of Recess.